Love, Family & Food

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Hello mummies out there. Today I am going to share my own personal experience of giving birth to my second baby on 17th April 2017. I had previously shared my experience in the previous sharing.

My first baby was delivered via Caesarean Section surgery as he was too big, and the doctor did not recommend spontaneous virginal delivery (SVD). This time around, I wanted to try delivering Derrick via SVD. To be honest, before my due date, I was going around asking various people about their experiences of SVD. It was horrifying. Some said, it was a piece of cake - just like passing motion. Some said it was very very painful, till they don't want to give birth anymore..

The more I hear about their experience, the more scared I was. However, I decided to go for SVD this round. My original estimated delivery date was 15 April 2017 but till date, I did not experience any sign of labour. Doctor gave me another week to go, but my parents did not encourage me to wait any longer. Thus, on 17 April 2017, I went to see doctor and asked if I can deliver my baby on that day.

He examined me to see if my cervix had opened to 3cm. Doctor said if the cervix did not open, there is no point inducing labour. For my case, my cervix was opened to about 3cm. Thus, doctor said I could be admitted and induced labour. I self-admitted to Hospital Fatimah that day in the morning. Doctor told me that I had a previous scar from Caesarean and thus, if possible he would not induce labour. If I were to let the pain comes naturally and the cervix to dilate, it will take about 6 hours. Doctor said if after 6 hours the cervix is not dilated, then I would need to go for surgery as well. But I still decided to go for normal delivery.

The nurses prepared me - changed, shaved and gave me lactulose to induce passing of motion to clear the faeces. Then the nurse put on the IV line on my left hand. They started me on IV drip and Oxytocin to induce labour. Additionally, the nurse also put on CTG on my stomach to read baby's heart rate and the frequency of contraction. The ACN Nurse shared with me some important knowledge which I wanted to share here as well.

1) Baby distress - When contraction of uterus began during labour, the baby will have short period of time lack of oxygen. Thus, nurses will check on the contraction duration during induce of labour to ensure that the contraction period is not too long. If it is too long, it can put baby at risk of distress due to lack of oxygen. When baby is distress, the baby will pass motion inside the womb, causing the amniotic fluid to turn greenish. The greener the amniotic fluid, the more distress the baby is. The nurses will adjust the oxytocin to lower down the contraction if there are sign of long contraction.

2) Usage of Epidural during SVD - Epidural is used to reduce labour pain. It is safe for use during delivery of baby. Many people opt for epidural nowadays to reduce labour pain. However, nurses also do not recommend using epidural during delivery because epidural reduces labour pain and mother will not be able to feel the contraction pain, thus, unable to know when to push the baby and have to strength to push.

3) Usage of Injection Pethidine during SVD - Injection Pethidine is a painkiller and also helps to relax our muscles. ACN Nurse recommended Injection Pethidine to relax the muscle. She said that opening of cervix is actually relaxation and dilation of the cervix. The muscle need to relax in order to dilate fast. Thus, Pethidine will help the cervix to dilate fast, reducing mother's suffering of long hours of labour pain. Because as soon as cervix is dilated 10cm, the the mother can give birth. If it takes hours to dilate, the mothers have to go through hours of contraction pain.

Ok, back to my story. After I was started on IV fluid and Oxytocin, I could feel the contraction pain. Mild one. After one hour plus of mild pain. my doctor came and examined me. He said I was dilated about 4cm. He then broke the water bag. After the water bag was broken, waves of strong contraction pain came. It is normal because the water bag acted as a cushion inside the womb, reducing the actual contraction pain. Once the water is out from the body, the contraction pain will be stronger.

The pain came and go. I experiences pain lasted about 10 second and it comes every 5 minute. To be honest, it is very painful experience. I did not scream but I try to endure the pain. Every time the pain came, I took a deep breath. It helped to reduce the pain. The whole duration from admission till labour was about 3-4 hours, instead of 6 hours as said by doctor.

At about 1pm I felt a sudden urge of passing motion, and felt something was coming out down there. My mum just arrived at the Hospital, while I told my husband to come at lunch hour for I did not know how long to wait for labour. When my mum was here, I felt baby was coming and told the nurse to check me. She said I was fully dilated and ready for delivery. I was shocked because 2 hours back doctor checked me I was only at 4cm. They were surprised with my progress. I told mum to call my husband immediately.

I was pushed into labour room. They called the doctor. I told them baby is coming out but they asked me to hold until doctor comes. When the doctor came, he guided me how to push the baby out. When I could feel the contraction pain, I pushed as if I was passing motion during constipation. I held the side rail of the bed and tried my very best to push. It was tiring and my lips were dry. Because I breathed using my mouth. I wet my lips with saliva and go again. After 4-5 pushes, my baby came out. The doctor placed him in front of me (with all the blood and slimy stuff). Then, the miracle happened when he cried so loud in front of me. The ACN said, this is your baby!

I was very happy and overjoyed. And impressed with myself that I could push him out. A lot of people told me that they don't have the strength to push. But I did! Thanks to the herbs -Pao Sum I took before delivery to protect my lungs and breathe.

My husband arrived after the baby was out and cleaned. He carried him while doctor was stitching my tear. Yeap. There was a tear. For normal delivery, almost mum will have a tear, or cut because the baby head is way larger than the vagina. People asked, if the tear or cut is painful? To be honest, you won't feel the pain at all after the baby is out... labour pain is much more painful than this cut/tear.

But, I can guarantee that all mum can go through the painful labour pain. It's a wonderful experience that all mum should go through. You can ask many people for their experience, but nothing compares to yourself experiencing it.

Well, I went through both Caesarean and Vaginal delivery and if you asked me which is better, I would say go for normal delivery still. It's just the delivery pain that turns people off, but the recovery after that is very fast. I could walk on the same day and after a week, I was back to before delivery where I could walk like normal. After normal delivery, you will experience muscle ache here and there which is normal. Don't panic.